It’s hard to believe 2018 is almost over and the holidays are already here. One of the best ways to get in the Christmas spirit is to watch a lot of festive movies. Netflix is currently streaming a huge library of holiday films, and we’ve rounded up an eclectic dozen of the very best, with picks for all audiences and a wide variety of tastes.

Here are the 12 best Christmas-themed movies you can watch right now on Netflix:

Legendary director Michael Curtiz helmed several of the most noteworthy films of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Casablanca (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Mildred Pierce (1945) and this essential Christmas musical, the highest-grossing film of 1954. A successful stage adaptation premiered in San Fransisco in 2004 and has been touring internationally ever since. Filmed in vivid Technicolor, White Christmas was the first movie ever released in VistaVision, a widescreen process using twice the surface area of standard 35mm film.

Carol (The Weinstein Company)

2. Carol (2015)

Hands-down one of the finest romantic dramas of this century, Todd Haynes‘s period masterpiece Carol is based on the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith and features sensational, arguably career-best performances from Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Kyle Chandler. Carol was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, but was surprisingly shut out of the Best Picture and Best Director categories.

This featherweight yet altogether delightful and sweet animated feature is suitable for all ages. A French-Australian-Irish co-production dubbed in American English for Netflix, Santa’s Apprentice will easily entertain very young children, and parents should be pleased with the film’s positive messages about self-belief and kindness.

Bad Santa (Dimension)

4. Bad Santa (2003)

On a very different end of the spectrum is this foul-mouthed-yet-undeniably-hilarious treat for grown-ups only from the director of Ghost World. This is one of Billy Bob Thornton‘s best roles, and the gloriously go-for-broke rude humor struck a chord with audiences, making Bad Santa a box office success. Not everyone was tickled though: a 2003 editorial in The Washington Times likened Bad Santa to an “evil twin” of A Miracle on 34th Street. While this may have been meant as a criticism, surely the filmmakers took it in stride and saw the humor in it. Also available on Netflix, Bad Santa 2 (2016) had a terrific cast including Kathy Bates and Christina Hendricks, and though it retained the vulgarity, it lacked the heart and genuine wit of its predecessor.

Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)

5. Tangerine (2015)

Sean Baker is one of our most innovative filmmakers. He makes profoundly human, intimate yet fully cinematic films about characters who rarely so much as get the big screen treatment. Before making the critically adored Oscar contender The Florida Project, he made Tangerine, an extraordinary and gut-bustingly funny comedy about a feisty, lovable, motormouth escort who storms the streets of Hollywood on Christmas Eve to track down the pimp who broke her heart. Filmed entirely on an iPhone 5S, Tangerine is laugh-til-you-cry funny throughout, and then an unexpectedly poignant ending hits you right in the gut and touches the heart in an honest and disarming way. It’s a great film. The Florida Project is even better—it’s downright exquisite—and it’s available on Amazon, YouTube and Google Play.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Universal Pictures)

6. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Though Ron Howard‘s big-budget adaptation of Dr. Seuss‘ classic story received mixed reviews upon release, it was an unqualified box office smash, spending four weeks atop the North American box office and ultimately becoming the second highest-grossing holiday film ever behind Home Alone, with over $345 million. One thing everyone could agree to admire was Jim Carrey‘s screen-commanding, supremely dedicated and undeniably impressive performance. He was even nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe for his work.

The Christmas Chronicles'Kurt Russell as a wisecracking Santa Claus (Netflix)

7. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)In this Netflix original, Kurt Russell is an uncommonly cool, handsome and wise-talking Santa Claus, who helps a brother and sister (Judah Lewis and Darby Camp) rediscover the magic of Christmas after the loss of their father. The Christmas Chronicles was directed by Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie), and produced by Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone). The big draw here is Russell’s performance, and he does not disappoint. This isn’t really like any Santa you’ve seen before.

This Disney animated anthology film, originally direct-to-video, is comprised of three shorts and features narration by six-time Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer. In addition to Mickey and Minnie, Once Upon a Christmas features toon favorites Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy, Max, Pluto, Scrooge McDuck and more.

Also available to stream on Netflix are the 2004 sequel Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas and 2001’s Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.

9. A Christmas Prince (2017) and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018)

In the vein of Hallmark and Lifetime originals, though perhaps a bit more self-aware than average, Netflix romantic comedy A Christmas Prince was a big hit upon release in November 2017, and the sequel is almost here. In the first movie, young American magazine journalist Amber Moore (Rose McIver) won the affections of Prince Richard (Ben Lamb) of Aldovia. In the sequel, Amber prepares to walk down the aisle and become royalty herself.

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding premieres Nov. 30.

10.The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Christmas Special (2018)

Surprise! Following the well-received first season of Netflix’s spooky supernatural horror series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the streaming service recently announced an additional holiday episode. Kiernan Shipka will return as Sabrina Spellman, as will fellow cast members Ross Lynch, Lucy Davis and Michelle Gomez.

This British family comedy stars Academy Award-winner Jim Broadbent as a Santa Claus, who seeks help from a 9-year-old boy (Kit Connor) and his father (Rafe Spall) after crashing his sleigh into their garden shed. Director Christopher Smith is best-known for British horror films like Severance and Black Death and brings a fair amount of grit to an otherwise lightweight kid-friendly adventure with sugar plum-sweet sentiment and flatulent reindeer.

A Very Murray Christmas (Netflix)

12. A Very Murray Christmas (2014)

Believe it or not, this Netflix special was directed by Academy Award-winner Sofia Coppola, helmer of Lost in Translation and The Beguiled. With Bill Murray in top form and hilarious, show-stopping appearances from George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, Jenny Lewis and Chris Rock, A Very Murray Christmas is a hugely entertaining and unique holiday experience. The special was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie.

Will you be watching any of these films on Netflix to get in the holiday spirit? What’s your all-time favorite Christmas movie? Let us know in the comments!

AMG/Parade Digital

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